Brazil Slum Buried by Slide; 3 Dead, 90 Missing

Rescue workers Wednesday dug through tons of dirt and debris from a landslide that engulfed a Sao Paulo slum, killing at least three people, injuring dozens and leaving at least 90 others missing.

Crews on Wednesday recovered three bodies from the rubble, and officials said there was little hope of finding survivors after the 100-foot-high avalanche of mud and rocks came crashing onto the Nova Republica slum Tuesday night.

More than 200 rescue workers, many of them using search dogs, were at the scene. At least 30 people were being treated at nearby hospitals and at a makeshift medical facility in Nova Republica, a hillside shantytown in the southern section of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city.

Residents blamed the tragedy on construction companies, who they said made the hillside unstable by piling dirt and stones above the slum’s houses, and that recent rains loosened the earth even more.

The landfill was made of dirt excavated from construction sites around the city and illegally dumped next to the shantytown, city officials said.

Nova Republica residents said they had been trying for years to get a protective wall built above their homes.

The city’s mayor, Luiza Erundina, said City Hall had fined the developers for their activities, but did not have the legal force to stop them. The mayor promised to take new legal action against the developers.

“We didn’t have time for anything,” said a tearful Maria da Concepcao Alves, 26. “I heard a strange noise, grabbed my little children and took off running. It was like the sky had covered the earth and wanted to eat us.”

Resident Maria dos Prazeres agreed that they had no warning. “We heard a loud roar and the ground shook and we ran for the door,” she said. “We just had time to move before the walls came crashing down on us.”

Fire Department Maj. Luis Roberto Carchedi said shantytown community leaders estimated more than 90 people were missing.

“(However) we are sure that many of those unaccounted for are in temporary shelters,” Carchedi added.

More than 50 shanties--half the neighborhood’s number, according to residents--were buried under 20 feet to 50 feet of rubble.

About 400 people lived in the area, officials said.

Firefighters, police, civil defense workers and volunteers--using bulldozers, hoes, shovels and in many cases their bare hands--worked nonstop digging through mud in search of victims.